Chiaroscuro

Quinn POV

Walking into the festival grounds, hand in hand with my Josh, who is practically vibrating with excitement. Seeing the string lit trees while everybody is picking their spots to set up their blankets feels like a dream.

"Are you nervous, Starlight?" I whisper, leaning into Josh. He squeezes my hand a few times before quickly nodding. Josh was always a candidly happy boy but, nothing will beat the way he is beaming at the sight of this festival set up. Josh was finally accepted to present a film he put together and I've never been more proud, even if it's a local film festival that is hosted once a season. Given that it's October, the theme for the fest is Horror Films, which isn't necessarily my favorite but I will always be there for Josh.

"Okay glow bug, find us a cozy spot and I'm going to go get the schedule." He quickly says before pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

"Don't get lost!" I yell as he scurries off into the crowd, knowing full well he didn't hear it.

After sneaking past even more horror fans, I found a sweet little spot under a tree. While smoothing out our blanket, I can hear him singing as he's making his way back.

"What a lovely day it is," bringing a smile to my face just by the sound of his voice. "Isn't it my little glow bug?"

Plopping himself down on the blanket and giving the space next to him a little double pat, I can't help but laugh at the gesture.

"Every day spent with you is lovely" I tell him, because simply put, it's the truth. Gently squishing his face, making him giggle. It was selfish really, anything to make that dimple pop. I haven't seen him this giddy since that night on the rooftop.

"Where are you on the schedule?" I questioned.

"Fourth!", he says excitedly, "but there's only six films being shown, so I really hope mine is memorable for everybody."

I could hear the excitement start to leave and the doubt creeping in its place.

"I'm sure it's absolutely perfect, Josh. Don't be too hard on yourself. The stars aligned to get you here, enjoy all of it." I tell him, hoping maybe some encouraging words will help him feel a bit better.

"Thank you, bug. You're right. No reason to fret about it beforehand," he mumbles. "Now come and get comfortable so we can enjoy these horrific films."

I spend most of the time during the first three indie horror films, watching through squinted eyes and listening to Josh's commentary under his breath. I'll never understand how he enjoys watching these but I'll gladly make the exception to spend time with him. I've been listening to him talk about the film he put together for months and I've only been lucky enough to see little clips, mostly from sneaking up behind him while he's editing.

"I actually quite liked that one," Josh says at a normal volume, snapping me out of my thoughts. "It was done so well, I'll find them later so I can give them a proper 'bravo!'"

If there's one thing I know about tonight, it's that we will be the last to leave . He just wants to make sure everybody feels included, so he will spend the night speaking to everyone. It's admirable really, because he and I are not the same. But maybe that's how we balance each other out so well.

"I'm sure they would love to talk to you but it's basically your turn, love!" I remind him, earning a grin from him.

"I really can't wait for you to see it," he says as he's standing up. "I think you'll enjoy it."

I reach my hand up towards him motioning for him to lean a little closer and as he does, I pull him in. Pressing my lips against his gently, leaving a few small kisses on the corners of his mouth and the tip of his nose, I see his beautiful smile start to creep onto his face.

"I'm already so proud of you," leaving one last kiss to his forehead, " now go! Go impress the fellow creepy folk!" Which earns a good laugh out of him as he starts walking up to the front.

"Next up, Joshua Kiszka presenting his film, The Red Opus", I watch the MC hand the microphone over to Josh, not having thought about the fact he would get to speak. I lock eyes with him from a distance seeing him release a big breath before pulling the mic up to his mouth.

"Thank you so much for having me here. It really is an honor. I have been passionate about film for my entire life and being able to finally show the world is really special to me. Well, with that said, I hope it scares the shit out of you!" Josh exclaims. He always had a way of speaking that would make anybody laugh, no matter the crowd. It makes sense how he's done so well in his past and current jobs, that charismatic little shit.

Josh quickly hustles through the crowd of blankets and settles back down onto ours.

"Your face is going to be sore from all that smiling you've been doing", I can't help but poke a little fun at how excited he is.

"What can I say," he torts back, "I get to spend an afternoon in the crisp air, enjoying people's response to my film with the love of my life. I have a lot to be happy about, bug."

I can't help but beam back at him. It's a wonderful thing being in love with someone who thinks you made the sun and the stars in the sky. But nothing beats knowing that our stardust paths decided to cross somewhere and I will be eternally grateful for that.

"I'm proud of you, Josh" I stared into his eyes for a moment, "really, I'm so proud to know you." Hearing the movie start, we both break eye contact to see the title screen pop up.

Through some laughter, "Now, let's see what horrible shit you decided to come up with."

I sat there and watched, cuddled up to Josh, and only had to look down a couple times throughout. He was also aware that I'm not the biggest fan of horror in general, so I would get a little tap on my thigh, letting me know to look away.

"It's almost over," he whispers, "I'm really happy that you're here" pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head. Sending little tingles through me, everyday I fall even more in love with him.

Everybody begins to hoot and holler as it ends, causing Josh to quickly stand so he can graciously accept the praise. He will forever be the cutest man I laid eyes on as he does a little curtsy to each side, relishing in his achievement. I can't help the fact my eyes are a little misty watching him, he has worked so hard for this that it's nice to see him get to live his most authentic self.

And as anticipated, we spent the rest of the evening talking to everybody- after watching the last two gore fest films of course.

Josh was just elated to spend time talking to other film buffs and there wasn't anything I could say that would stop that. So with that, I stood beside him all night and enjoyed the fresh fall air while he spoke endlessly about his love for film under the moonlight.